Fashion's Night Out 2011: Charlotte, NC

Alas, Fashion's Night Out 2011 is finally here!  Allison and I are headed to Neiman Marcus for the Fashion's Night Out event and then uptown to Metropolitan, to support our favorite local shops!

Here are some looks I hope we see:

#1.  BEST SELLER AND FUTURE "GAME CHANGER/FASHION ICON" AWARD: MiuMiu



This shoe is the most controversial and "game changing" shoe I have seen hit the main stream in a while!! Cult Fashion Shoe AHHHHLOOOOLICCS are worshiping this shoe. Love , love it in the second version as well! If we didn't need power and food, I would already own them:)

2. Marc by Marc Jabobs is an urban legand!



Hugs and Kisses for this shirt! If Neiman Marcus wants to continue to keep the urban cool kids around, this  is a great way to start! Me, I would probably pair it with a pair of 70's inspired flares and a great wedge. . .maybe some simple gold hoops and a boho brown leather cross boday bag! I might also wear it tucked into a vintage pencil skirt,  30's style T-Cross high heel shoe and a killer  bag. Too many ways to wear this, and worth the investment!  A total 2010 Gucci Knockoff, of course, but the closest designer to hit it, HECK YES!!! Worth the money!!!

3. The Return of ladylike: If I were a princess, I would wear this! I would of course be 6 inches taller, lacking a football player's shoulders and have a trust fund immune to a double dip recession. Nope not me, but be on the look out for inspired looks, in time for your husbands/neighbors/charity  holiday party:)



4. The Power of a Women in a Bad A$$ Hat! I am in love with the 70's, bell bottoms, suede, felt hats, wooden wedges.. . . ahhh, all me baby, all me!!! This piece, makes me wobble in my heels. . . .



5. I know I will NEVER be able to afford it, but these shoes are just bad! In my dreams I  would wear them NOW with a tea length knit skirt (think Missioni)  and a silk cami. Oh and maybe the hat from up above!



6.Colorblocking is KEY this season. I love the clean lines and the use of color in this dress from Jill Stuart. The perfect blend of 70's meets modern.



For Winter try this look from modern design master 3.1 Philip Lim, available at Shopbop.com. (of course!)



7. The perfect accessory to both the lady like look and boho chic? Estate jewelry of course! Check out these awesome earings from Stella & Dot.



Cant wait to share with you our favorite looks from the night!

Cheers,

Tay

Life in a Tree House

Our house was built in 1924, and I  love it.  I imagine that the man who built this house must have been a romantic. We are the third owners, the women before us, lived here for 2 years. The family before that built not only our house,  but the house's around us.  Mostly, I feel like I was destined to be here and I do not know why.

There are more windows than wall space. Most of them casement, and crank outwards like we should be looking out on the Cape.  None of them are standard. The light floods the house in the morning and I am overcome with a half-awake happiness. A calmness that only the gentle soft morning light could achieve over my cranky morning self.

The ceilings are 10+ feet. They feel huge in comparrsion to me.

There are old pine floors that go one way, vary greatly in width, and excite me in the romantic way they should.  There are oak floors that go the other way, are perfectly symmetrical,  and bore me most days. They require 1/2 the work.

Not one of the doors is level.

The house is full of life in the summer. The southern humidity brings everything together. The littlest cracks that drive me crazy all winter, all swell and fill with the summer heat. They keep the cool air-conditioned air inside, where we need it most.

In the winter, while my neighbors tree shaded houses are all creaky and cold, the same sun light that prevents me from ever growing the smallest flower, keeps our house warm and compensates for the gaping spaces in the casement windows. I never have to check the weather channel in the morning, I only have to stand barefoot in front of the sink.

Did I tell you that our house is framed in the same red cedar that sides it?  The studs are magnificent. It takes a fully muscled man and large power equipment to hang so much as a mirror. That mirror will be there as long as the house.

On top of the frame-work, lives our plaster walls.  It too, is alive in a way that some human beings are not. I fix cracks, we plaster, we paint, they come back, they want to be here . .to be seen. . .there is no other explanation.

My kitchen is in the back of the house,  where modern floor plans do not allow. There is no "Great Room", yet I am grateful for my alone space. No one bothers me back here. I am here now, typing away, while the sound of the television blares from the front room. They will find me when they are hungry, but not before.

In our house, the dirt rises from the ground below, the windows bring the fresh air in,  and light fills the space in its natural glow. Our house in its aging imperfection, economic shortcomings and modern inefficiency's, clearly represents what Scotty and I stand for. We are romantics, drawn together by something stronger than we are, and we do not know why.

Cheers,

Tay

Get the Look: Star Lighting

Lighting, the older I get, the more important it becomes. . . crows feet be gone!  Choosing the right chandelier or fixture sets the mood for the whole room. I  saw this AMAZING look online  this morning (at Elle Decor) and thought it looked familiar:

Choose This (Charles Edwards Star Lantern ) for This ($ So expensive I couldn't find a price anywhere. . . what, what!)

Gweneth Paltrow has three hanging in her hallway!

OR

Choose This (Worlds Away  Star Chandelier) for This ($185)

*Almost hung this in my hallway but I can part with our original fixture? Gweneth I am not:)

Cheers,

Tay